Nigeria can overcome US 14% export policy – Traders

The Vice President of the National and International Affairs and Coordinator of the Eastern Corridor of West African Cross Border Traders, Salami Nasiru Alasoadua, has stressed the need to reorganise the country, the region and the entire continent to mitigate the adverse effects of the new US 14 per cent export policy.

Alasoadua made this observation in an exclusive chat with The PUNCH on Tuesday.

Last week, The PUNCH reported that US President, Donald Trump, announced that exports from Nigeria to the United States will now be subjected to a 14 per cent tariff. The decision, which was made public during a ‘Make America Wealthy Again’ event in the Rose Garden on Wednesday, is part of a broader strategy aimed at rebalancing global trade and addressing perceived unfair trade practices. The newly introduced 14 per cent tariff marks a significant shift in U.S.-Nigeria trade relations, with the U.S. government citing an ongoing trade imbalance.

Reacting to the development, Alasoadua, who is also the president of trans-border traders, maintained that another challenge the country is facing is bad governance.

He said, “Let us organise our region, organise our country, and organise our continent; let Nigeria be well-organised. What we need is to rebuild our national economy. When your national economy is strong, your regional economy is strong, your continental economy is strong, and whatever anybody can bring, you are good to go. But the moment that your national economy is not strong, your regional economy is not strong, or your continental economy is not strong, then there is a problem.”

Alasoadua advised that Nigeria in particular and Africa in general should look towards exporting among themselves.

“We can export, among our region. The challenges we are facing, number one, are that we are paying a transit levy along our corridors; these issues have to be resolved. We should not panic; the US levy shouldn’t make us panic,” he stated.

He stated that Nigeria alone represents 70 per cent of the whole trade in the Economic Community of West African States, which is made up of 15 countries.

“And when you are talking about trade, the whole of West Africa – Nigeria represents 70 per cent of the volume of trade. Nigeria represents 70 per cent of ECOWAS trade volume; we have 15 ECOWAS member states,” he said.

However, he urged the government to tackle issues of insecurity and poor infrastructure, among others, for the region to fully harness these potentials.